For UFC champ Rose Namajunas, serenity over hate

(This story first published over at usatoday.com.)

Everyone in the UFC hates something or someone, it seems. Most of the organization’s athletes know only one way to promote fights – by belittling, insulting or trash-talking opponents.

Rose Namajunas is both the exception to that rule and an exceptional fighter, having claimed the UFC’s women’s strawweight title in last November at UFC 217. She defends it on Saturday at UFC 223 in a rematch against former champ Joanna Jedrzejczyk and revealed how there is just one thing about the world of MMA that she hates.

“I can’t stand all this fake hate,” Namajunas told USA TODAY Sports. “Ego and fear and different negative forces push people into talking a certain way about each other. If there is genuine disdain, sure, why not? But why generate hate for the sake of it? My job is to fight, but personally I don’t have hate outside the job.”

Namajunas goes about things in an entirely different way, one that is a reflection of the serenity she has in her everyday life. In the build-up to the pair’s first fight at Madison Square Garden, Jedrzejczyk (14-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC) attempted to bully Namajunas (7-3 MMA, 5-2 UFC), taunting her about the mental illness issues that both she and her late father suffered from.

Instead of responding with venom, Namajunas instead steeled her focus, an approach that paid off with a resounding first-round stoppage that handed Jedrzejczyk the first defeat of her UFC career.

A combination of the result, as well as the positive public response she received, convinced Namajunas of the power of wellness and serenity. She had a troubled childhood in a rough part of Milwaukee and has spoken briefly of being sexually abused during that time, but now lives a quiet life with fiancé Pat Barry outside of Denver.

She plays the piano and has learned to play “Cruisin’” by Smokey Robinson. She grows vegetables in her garden and cooks them in her kitchen, practices yoga, wears clothing filled with messages of peace and love, and looks after her two cats and Mishka, her emotional support dog. She’s currently reading a book called Buddha’s Brain.

Not exactly what you’d expect from someone with the willingness and capacity to inflict pain and harm on those who face her.

“It seems like a contradicting mindset in such a brutal sport, but I think it actually fits in a way,” Namajunas added. “To me, fighting for love and goodness and the positive things in life is more powerful than fighting with hate in your heart. Love is the mindset where I want to be at all times.”

Namajunas’ battle with Jedrzejczyk serves as co-main event on the UFC 223 pay-per-view from Brooklyn’s Barclays Center on Saturday, but it might be the most competitive bout on the card.

With so much calm in her life it is a wonder that the 25-year-old can raise enough ferocity to compete, but she insists that is the last of her worries.

“I never have a lack of aggression,” she added. “I actually need to put myself on a leash to make sure that aggression is controlled. I only lose when I am out of control. I need to be more like a cat, and less like a Tasmanian devil.”

For more on UFC 223, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.